Packers place second-round RFA tender on Robert Tonyan, per report

The Packers have placed a second-round restricted free agent tender on tight end Robert Tonyan, according to a report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein. He’ll count just over $3.3 million against the 2021 cap.

The Packers’ best tight end prospect in some time, Tonyan had a breakout year in 2020. He posted career highs in catches (52), yards (586), and touchdowns (11), while catching a whopping 88.1% of the passes that came his way. Advanced stats painted him as one of the most efficient tight ends in the league, too: he led all tight ends in DVOA and ranked behind only Travis Kelce in DYAR.

Tonyan, a former undrafted free agent out of Indiana State, was the highest-profile player in the Packers’ restricted free agent class this year, and the tender all but assures he’ll be back in Green Bay for 2021 — and probably beyond.

However, there is the outside chance that a team could sign Tonyan to a lucrative deal, surrendering a second-round pick to the Packers in the process. That’s a fairly rare occurrence, and a league-wide cap crunch could make it less likely, but it certainly isn’t impossible. In any case, the Packers have made their opening move, and it’s one that will very likely bring one of their top pass catchers back for another season.